Watching "football" -- Senegalese style

Just got back from watching the Senegal game in the student center with a bunch of us jostling for place to see the tele hanging out doorways and windows, lopping over one another, standing on tables and chairs, cheering and jeering, and above all else--arguing. The other times I've caught the game were either in the street with a bunch of people huddled around a television stretched by the wire into the street or in my host mother's hair salon watching with a bunch of women who were just as serious about the game as they were about woooing at the players. But this time it was different -- a mixed crowd of African students from all over. If they weren't actually themselves from Guinea, they were definitely free to choose who they thought was the better team. From the other places I've watched the soccer (le football) match, there's rarely ever a person contre (against) Senegal, but when people asked you what team (equipe) you were for, it wasn't a joke like "Of course I'm for Senegal -- Who else?" today they we're actually drawing lines. I walked in not realizing this and feeling slightly guilty: From the beginning I've only been a Senegal fan by default (I'm here aren't I?). Senegal wasn't expected to win. And pulling aside a few fans they quietly and with a defeatist shrug said Guinea's the better team. I watched a few of these walk out during half time and come back only later when Sengal started scoring. But not to give Senegal's fans a bad name, they were a few, the true Lions (les vrais), sticking by their team. One Sengalese woman yelled at a Burkinabe talking smack, "You're in our country and you can't even support our team!" But later it was the Guinean fans rightly perturbed sitting quietly in the corner hands between their legs staring unhappily while the rest of the room burst into squeals and yells 'cause Senegal won the game -- somehow. Scoring mostly by chance and luck and pure foolishness, but they did it. I guess I chose the right equipe.